‘Frightened’ young woman left crying after man ‘stalks’ and asks her for sex in Northampton town centre

A 22-year-old woman has been left “frightened” and “paranoid” after reporting that a man followed her and sexually harassed her in Northampton town centre.

The ordeal is alleged to have taken place on Tuesday, October 4 at around 9.20am when the young woman was walking in Abington Street towards Wellingborough Road.

The 22-year-old, who wishes to remain anonymous, described how she noticed a man start to walk alongside her but thought nothing of it because she thought he was merely walking in the same direction.

She said: “I started walking up the Welly Road and noticed that this man was basically glued to my side or just behind me but within arms reach and this made me uncomfortable, so I started to walk quicker in which he also kept up with that pace.”

The young woman noticed that, whenever she stopped, the man would slow down and walk very slowly ahead of her until she began to walk again so that he could continue walking alongside her.

She told Chronicle & Echo that - when they reached the opposite side of the road to the Spread Eagle public house in Wellingborough Road - the man asked her if she would like to have sex with him.

The young woman said she refused and the man continued to follow her again until she stopped and pulled out her phone to take pictures of him. He fled across the road to walk behind shops.

The victim said: “I was crying at this point, nobody seemed to want to help me as I tried speaking to two other men, who ignored me before finally reaching a builder, who was waiting to get picked up outside the Betfred shop and he listened to me and told me to call 101.”

The man allegedly returned and, after seeing the young woman with the builder, rushed towards the town centre.

The 22-year-old woman told this newspaper that this experience has left her feeling “paranoid” about being on the streets alone, even just doing mundane things like walking to work or going shopping.

She said: “It really saddens me that men still think this behaviour is acceptable and I’ve been victim to similar acts before so I’m extremely cautious and sometimes frightened around men.

“I don’t leave the house without thick rings on anymore or keys wrapped around my knuckles when walking home and, the fact that two other people ignored me, really shows that people sometimes still don’t want to help girls in distress.”

A spokeswoman for Northamptonshire Police said: “At about 9.20am on October 4, a woman spotted a man appearing to follow her as she walked along the Wellingborough Road.

“He made an inappropriate comment towards her before she started filming him and he ran off.

“He is described as about five foot and nine inches, in his 20s or 30s, with dark hair and glasses. He wore a white long sleeve top with a blue sleeveless puffer jacket on top, black trousers and light grey dress shoes.”

Anyone who witnessed this incident is asked to call Northamptonshire Police on 101, quoting incident number: 22000577393.